Samsung’s latest acquisition will be a big boost for Galaxy AI

Samsung is leaning heavily on AI to sell recent phones, as the Galaxy S24 series and new foldable phones all offer Galaxy AI features. The company isn’t stopping here, as it’s just made an acquisition to bolster its on-device AI capabilities.

Samsung announced that it’s agreed to acquire UK startup Oxford Semantic Technologies for an undisclosed sum. The startup offers knowledge graph technology via its RDFox product. Knowledge graphs store related information in a graph form, enabling a number of use cases.

“By integrating and connecting data, this technology enhances the understanding of how people use a product or service and enables rapid information retrieval and recommendation. As such, it is considered one of the key technologies for realizing more sophisticated and personalized AI solutions,” Samsung explained.

Oxford Semantic Technologies says RDFox is the only knowledge graph that can run in memory, enabling faster performance. The startup also claimed it was the only “enterprise-grade” knowledge graph that could run on mobile devices, citing the product’s efficiency and footprint. Needless to say, a small footprint, the ability to reside in RAM, and great efficiency are all key for responsive on-device AI features on smartphones.

Samsung gave a broad outline of what it plans to do with this tech:

With this acquisition, Samsung will secure advanced core engines for personal knowledge graphs. These graphs integrate information and context dispersed across various services and apps, crafting a user experience that is tailor-made by becoming increasingly familiar with users’ preferences and usage.

Combined with on-device AI technology, such as that on Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series, personal knowledge graph technology facilitates hyper-personalized user experiences while ensuring sensitive personal data remains secure on the device. It will be applicable across all of Samsung’s products, extending beyond just mobile devices to televisions and home appliances.

Oxford Semantic Technologies CEO Peter Crocker added that this technology “will provide Samsung’s customers with even more sophisticated personalization.” Neither company dished out specific examples of this personalization.

Plenty of smartphone makers have touted personalized user experiences over the years, though. Google itself has taken several approaches on Android, including its card-based Google Now system, the At A Glance widget, and Smart Reply functionality. Some OEMs also offer features like app suggestions based on various factors (i.e. usage, time of day) as well as contact suggestions.

Samsung is no stranger to this trend, either. Perhaps the most prominent example is its Smart Suggestions app. This enables text suggestions within the Samsung Keyboard, schedule suggestions in the calendar app, reminder suggestions, and various suggestions within the Samsung Messages app. But this deal, along with the mention of TVs and appliances, suggests a more ambitious approach.

For what it’s worth, one of the listed use cases for RDFox is semantic search and recommendations. We’ve previously seen OEMs like ASUS offering “AI Semantic Search” functionality on the Zenfone 11 Ultra, allowing people to use natural language to search for settings, photos, and apps. So it stands to reason that similar functionality could be integrated into future Galaxy devices.